Title: Breeder’s Envy (Makrospondylitic Thoroughbred Skeleton Mount)

Completion Date: April 2013

Materials: Thoroughbred horse bones, wood base, steel supports, silicone-based cartilage-replacement material

Dimensions: 22’ long by 2’ wide by 7′ high, approximately 300 pounds (including base)

Statement:

The Thoroughbred racehorse is an extremely specialized agricultural product of this particular place, a result of uniquely rich soil and centuries of intensive selective breeding practices.

Breeder’s Envy is the stretch limousine of Thoroughbreds. Its outrageous length makes reference to extravagance and its virile posture suggests a raw, thrilling power. A preserved, real-bone, skeleton is familiar as tool for scientific inquiry. A formal mount is also a kind of trophy that provides taxidermic proof of the prowess of the breeder, hunter, or specimen collector. In this artwork, I present an extreme version of such a cultural artifact that is perverse, because it is both enviable and horrific, and humorous.

2021 Earthly Observatory exhibition website

PRESS COVERAGE for Breeder’s Envy and Land of Tomorrow “Seven Exhibitions”

Snapshots of opening night, Land of Tomorrow “Seven Exhibitions” April 2013

Photos of design and fabrication work in progress